Shocking but true – an estimated 1 in 5 local adults in Sarasota and Manatee Counties struggle with basic literacy and/or English communication skills (Source: National Assessment of Adult Literacy – NAAL). It could be your neighbor, the person in line in front of you at the store, the one you sit next to at church, the parent picking up their children from school, or the plumber who fixed your sink yesterday. But you can’t see it. It’s invisible to the eye, but it’s there. To raise awareness of this hidden issue, three local adult literacy nonprofits have come together as S.A.L.A., the Suncoast Adult Literacy Alliance. Comprised of the Manatee Literacy Council, Literacy Volunteers of South Sarasota County, and the Literacy Council of Sarasota, S.A.L.A. is combining resources to highlight next month, September, as National Literacy Month. Note that Tuesday, September 8th was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO in 1966 to remind the international community of the importance of literacy for individuals, communities and societies, and the need for intensified efforts towards more literate societies.

For more info: Manatee Literacy Council (MLC), Michelle Desveaux McLean, Executive Director, (941) 284-3556, director@manatee-literacy.org; Literacy Volunteers of South Sarasota County (LVSSC), Joe Pokorney, Board Member, (941) 544-7272, joe@lancastermcginty.com; and, The Literacy Council of Sarasota (LCS), Tom Melville, Executive Director, (941) 955-0421, tmelville@sarasotaliteracy.org.